Sanitary cap remover



p 1931- F. BERGMANN 1,820,999

SANITARY CAP REMovER Filed April 10, 1930 3nventor Eva Bay/warm omega Patented Sept. 1,; 1931 ,rniiiafl innei iann, b tenements;lemitsnvmm SANITARY car Rel eves a This invention relates to a sanitary cap remover particularly. adapted for the re,-

" I finoval; of the paper or cardboard ca'ps ordi- *nar-ily used onmilk bottlesge.

.The removal otthese paper closure: members orcaps ordinarily used. on milk bottles and similartypes of-containersis sometimes quite rdifiicult. The paper caps are usually forced under an overhanging lip onthe bottle or container to retain the caps in position.

They are also usually bowed slightly inwardly toward the contents of the bottle. This renders their removal most troublesome. If

aniat'tempt is,made-to' force the paper cap inwardly x toward the, bottle, pressure is put upon the liquid in the bottle and the liquid i quite'lt'requently splatters outwardly; It is a common practice for; housewives to puncture the 'paper caps; with a fork, ice pick, or

similar pointed implement in an attempt to remove -;the same. o vI-Iowejver, this operation must be most carefully done or otherwise the gliqiiid will :be forced 4 out of the bottle.

i Someadai'ries now useya special 'capwhich ii'sread-ilyremovable,having a wire forpulling the same out ofthe bottle, or a tab which amayiibebent upwardly togpull the {cap out.

These typesiof caps areexpensivej tomanufacture {and are troublesome to; insert since they;mustbe'positioned with thGWV -IIQYOI tab facing outwardly. I Moreover; it, frequently happens thatithe tabs; orl' wires become de- =,t ached fromt-he caps when an attempt is made to remove, the capsul r Itthe paper (caps aref'reinoved :from' the wbiottlesbypuncturing them with ja-fork or similar *implementthey have a hole through ithe'm and if the user; 1W1ShG'S to retain some -,tion but-the entrance; ofdust or other foreign 1 ef the milk Within the, bottle a for future, use,

the], perforated capv maybe replaced in posimatter-into the" bottle is not entirely prea ented. there the ,milk is, stored in a re- -irigerfator or similar container-in which variousother foodproduc'tsare stored, it is desi-rablethat .the milk receptacleibe closed, or

I 7 otherwise the iunused po'rtion of the milk j-may ."become, contaminated from odors emanating from the other foodproducts.

it isj anobject ofthisinventionto provide i930. Serial; no. 443,175 a a I aremover for the paper caps of milk bottles or the like, which 1 is readily associated with the bottle to remove the cap therefrom and which prevents all danger of'splashingthe liquid outwardly upon the user. v v Another object of this invention vide a removerfor the paper caps of milk bottles or the like,'which remover may be detachably associated with the milk bottle after the caphas been removed to provide a temporary closure for the bottle which Will prevent the entrance of dust into the bottle and'n'iaintain it sufiiciently air-tight to prevent circualtion of air therein.

Z Another object of this inventionis to provide a removingiimplement for the paper caps of milk bottles or vthe like, which is in the form ofa cup for: enclosing the entire end of-the milk'bottle'with a readily mov- Tablepart-thereon "for puncturing the cap,

is to pr'owhereby danger of splashing theliquid contents-otthe bottleontheiuser-isobviated; 1

r Anotherfobject of this invention is to pro -c videa removerfor the paper caps of milk bottles or the like which is; provided with a movable handle having "a hook thereon? for piercing the papericap to remove thesame, and is further provided with springmeans, whereby the 'paper capmay be readily disassociated-from the removing implement after the same has been'remo'ved from the bottle.

- Another object of this'invention is to provide acap'remover'for use with milk bottles 'or the like, whichis simple and cheap to'man- 'ufacture, durablezin use, and thoroughly re- H Figure l-lSfi SGCtlOIlill view taken online '-1 1 of Figure 2. Figure2is a Si ing in section, a a I Figure 3is a section on line 33 of Figure v-Theseand variou'sother objects of my in-,

deelevation with the cas- I its 1 showing the'reniover positionedon a milk bottle. V

Figures 4 andi5 are detailed views of' my to readily fit over the neck of a milk bottle or other container from which the cap is to be removed. The dependinggwall B -is per with the closed bottom 2; for the reception of a rotatableshaft l'journalled in the wall 3 anclhavi-ng retaining washers 5 thereon for maintaining the handle 'in position. This 1 shaft is prov-ided'with an external manually operable crank 6*forfopearting the same. The shaft v L hassec ured thereto for rotation therewith a "pointed h'ook member 7 which is 4 iT p ng"edevice ncludes a adapted to'p'er'forate through the paper cap :53 toremove'the same. 'Asseen in Figure 3, the

hookmember 7 may "be" retracted within the opp-shaped member l te a position spaced from the bottom "edge provided by the cupshaped'wal l The hook '7 may besecured to. the shaft 4; in 'any'approved manner, such as ,aclarnpecl'fit' around asquared portion of the 'shaift 'or-ot herwise, in order that the shaft and the hook 7 'nayrota'te as a unit. -In order to provide for the detachment or --e ie'cti o n ofth'e paper cap from the cup' shaped casin -1, Ihaveprovided a springidevice which ant'omatically disconnects the paper cap from the casing when the handle is turned in a reversedirectionmj I I flat metal Ysp'ring member'8, shown in detail in-Figures -4"a'nd'5f.' This spring member is formed by bending a 'flat' sheetmetal strip upon itself to form the two} leaves 11 an'd12." The upper leaf 11 of thesp ring 8 has two tongues 13 and 14; cut from'the'mainportion thereof hen-t around the shaft 4 into closeengageinenttherewith. The remaining 1 outer port' ion'ofthe upper leaf 11 thus constitutes min le j-cent'r'al leaf designated by reference character15gand=said member 15 rests in surface contact with the closed bottom 2 of the 'slie't 'metal casing The lower leaf :12 of the "spring me'mberQS extends across the central portion of the cup 1 and is provided 'with a central slot 1'6 -adj acent its end to thus provideflanopen-i g" through which the hook '1neniber7 'rnay pass. r 1 By the aboveoonstruction it will be noted that'the assembly of the parts is greatly sim- 1'f)lified,"there being no soldering for riveting is out and'ben't into proper form prior to assem l h i qns s 3- a d p riss downwardly 'frointhe upper leaflll- The sole means of support for the spring member 8 comprises the shaft 4. The tongues 13 and 14 and the hook 7 maybe bent around the shaft 1 after the shaft has" been passed through the opening in one side of the cup 1.

core .5 when secured to the shaft-4 will prevent misplacement of the parts. The entire mechanismis cheapto manpfacture andthoroughlye efiicient inits use; h It isoblieved that the operation of my de- 7 vice will be obvious from the above descripforated adjacent the junction oflsaid wall" tion. The cup-shaped member 1 is positioned over a bottle 18 or the like,- as shown inFigure 3', pressure on the cup-shaped mempapercap 17 is retained by the hook 7. The

paper cap 17 may now be ejected from the remover by a reverse'rotation' of theha-ndle 3, this reverse rotation withdrawing the hook 7 through the slot 16 of the spring When such withdrawal takes place the flower leaf.-

oft'he spring is further compressed and when the pointed end of the hook 7 is withdrawn from the opening in the'cap 17,the cap is forcibly ejected bythe spring out of the cupshapedmember '1. v i

' The cup 1 maybe used as a'cover for the milk bottle to prevent entrance" of foreign matter until all of the milk is used. When thus used as a cover fora milk bottle the fit between the neck of the bottle and the wall 3 nevertheless the entrance of foreign "matter into the bottle is effectively prevented and there is practically no circulation of :air in the bottle. It will be understood that in some cases I may-make the diameter of the casing such that the walls '3 will friotionally engage the neck of a milk bottle,' *whereby a practically air-tightseal willbe obtained. If desired, the cap 17 may be retained within the cup l'and be repeatedly put on 'and taken off from the bottle.

tion is desired, the handle '6 is not rotatedin a may remain associated therewith to function as a handle or'it maybe removed for use with another bottle. V v

The inventionmay be embodied in other If this opera as r reverse direction toeje'ct the cap 12 but re- 7 mains'in the position 'to which itwas'turned when the cap was punctured by the hook 7. Thus the cap 17 may-be accurately positioned 'liack onto thebottleand the cup member 1 specific forms WitllOLlt departing from the spirit or essential characteristics thereof.

The present embodiment is therefore to be considered in all respects as illustrative and not restrictive, the scope of the invention being indicated by the appended claims rather than by the foregoing description, and all changes which come Within the meaning and range of equivalency of the claims are therefore intended to be embraced therein.

What I claim and desire'to secure by United States Letters Patent is 1. A device for the removal of the paper cap of a milk bottle comprising a cup-shaped casing adapted to be positioned over the end of the bottle, a rotatable handle member journaled 'in' the depending Wall of said'casing,

a hook secured to and rotatable With said handle member adaptedto puncture through and retain the paper cap when said handle member is rotated in one direction and a, leaf spring bent upon itself, one portion of said leaf spring being bent around said handle member ithin the casing for retaining the leaf spring in position, the other end of said spring being slotted for the passage of said hook therethrough whereby the paper cap is ejected fromsaid casing after removal from the bottle by reverse rotation of said handle member. v I

2. The invention as defined in claim 1 wherein the upper rebent portion of said leaf spring is in surface engagement with the closed bottom of said c'asmg.

In testimony whereof I aflix my slgnature.

FRED BERGMANN, 

